Man jailed for killing stepfather who sexually abused him in hit-and-run attack

Nathan Kenny, 33, admitted the manslaughter of Michael Fennah who abused both him and his mother in the early 1990s

Jailed: Nathan Kenny, left, was jailed for three years for killing Michael Fennah

A man has been jailed for killing the stepfather who sexually abused him as a child in a hit and run attack.

Nathan Kenny, 33, admitted the manslaughter of Michael Fennah who died after being hit by a Renault Megane last December.

A witness told how Kenny drove into Fennah before reversing over his body four or five times before fleeing the scene.

A court heard how Fennah had abused both Kenny and his mother in the 1990s and had continued to taunt him as an adult.

Kenny said he lost control of himself as he drove his car at his victim and was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse he suffered.

Today he was jailed for three years at Liverpool Crown Court.

The court heard how Michael Fennah met and married Nathan Kenny's when Kenny was 13.

The relationship was abusive from the first day and Nathan Kenny witnessed his mum being abused and later suffered abuse himself.

Although the marriage did not last long Michael Fennah would return to their house in a rage and terrify them further, the court heard.

They stayed living in the same area and Michael Fennah continued to taunt Kenny which Nicholas Johnson, QC, defending, said "kept the pot on the boil" until he snapped and killed him.

On December 16, Nathan Kenny found out his five-year-old niece had got a Christmas card from Fennah's son who was in her class at school.

However, the card had been written by an adult and Kenny believed it was Michael Fennah.

The next day Michael Fennah left his home to go to the local shop when Nathan Kenny drove into him from behind.

Mr Fennah was thrown to the floor and Kenny then drove over him.

According to a witness, Lee Medwell, he then turned his car round and drove back over him without braking before reversing over him as many as four or five times. But defence lawyer Mr Johnson said this was not supported by medical evidence.

Mr Medwell tried to protect Mike Fennah only for Kenny to tell him: "Move out the ****ing way."

Kenny then fled the scene and went to his sister's house where he told her: "I've done it. I've killed him, Mick, I've run him over."

When police arrived they found a handwritten note which said: "Sorry. I'm not evil. He was a bad man."

Kenny was arrested and told a police officer he had "bad thoughts about hurting that one person" but otherwise made no comment to detectives.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, said: "The trigger and background to this case was as a result of things said and done to you which were of an extremely grave character and which caused you to have a justifiable sense of being severely wronged."

He said Kenny had been caused "extreme pain, shame and humiliation", suffered flashbacks to the abuse and that when he saw the Christmas card: "Your perception was you were never going to be free, and you remained scared of him."

He jailed Kenny for three years and received a warm round of applause from the defendant's family in the public gallery.